Small Town Scandal
by eb
Summary: Hazard County is the site of big news when a young woman's body is found dead. But who is she? And who killed her?
1. Default Chapter Title

**Small Town Scandal******

Disclaimer: I own the Dukes. Please don't sue.   


Well folks, everything started out like a relatively quiet day here in Hazard County. But as you probably already know it's the quiet days that almost always end up in mayhem of some sort. At least, that's the way quiet days in Hazard usually go. Sheriff Roscoe P. Coltrane for once, had the day off and decided to go fishing out by the creek on the far side of Hazard. It seemed like being the sheriff he hardly ever got a day off. 

After a few moments of unloading his gear from his squad car and his faithful dog, Flash, Roscoe headed for trail that led down to the creek. He had already noticed the General Lee parked a few yards away and knew at once that he'd be seeing the Duke boys in a few short minutes. 

"Ohh, darn it Flash. Looks like we're not the only ones who that got a day off." Roscoe said to the little dog. Flash just cocked her head and looked up at Roscoe as he spoke to her. 

"Oh well. I guess it could be worse. Let's just enjoy the day and..." Roscoe let out a sharp cry as he slid in wet patch of mud and lost his balance. He went rolling off to the side moments and finally came to an abrupt stop at the roots of a large tree. 

Bo and Luke Duke had heard the commotion and came running to the trail to see what had happened. 

"Hey Roscoe, is that you down there?" Bo called as he and Luke made their way over to help the sheriff up to his feet. 

"Are you all right? That's some fall you took." Luke asked as they checked Roscoe over any serious injury. 

"I'm fine. I just slipped in some mud. Thanks for the concern though boys." Roscoe replied and started to gather up his fishing gear. 

"Now where'd my little long ears go? Here girl, here Flash." Roscoe called. 

"Come on Flash." Bo called as he spotted the little dog. 

"Hey it looks like he's found something." Luke said walking over to where Flash had started digging. 

"Now Flash, you cut that out. I jest gave a bath two days ago. You're gonna...." Roscoe's voice trailed off as got a closer look at what Flash had dug up. 

Bo and Luke had stopped dead in their tracks and just stood staring down at the sight of what appeared to be a human skeleton. Only Roscoe had managed to move closer. 

Letting his fishing supplies drop to the ground, Roscoe bent over and scooped up his dog in his arms and carefully walked around the grave site which the body had been crudely buried in. As he walked around the grave Roscoe took note of the few remaining articles of clothing the body still wore. 

Definitely female, he thought to himself as he spotted a faded high heel shoe on one foot. 

He had no idea who victim was or how long the body had there. All Roscoe knew for sure was that judging by the area it was buried in, the killer believed it would be a very long time before anyone found the body. 

Roscoe shook his head warily and went with the Duke boys back to his squad car to radio in for Enos and a coroner to examine the body. 

"So much for our peaceful day off, huh Flash." Roscoe said as he, Bo, and Luke waited for Deputy Enos, Boss Hogg and the local coroner to arrive. 

Like I said folks, its the quiet days in Hazard that usually end up in the most mayhem. 

************************************************** 

Later that evening Roscoe sat at his desk at the Sheriff's Dept. going over what little information he had managed to gather on the case so far. 

He hadn't gotten the autopsy report back yet and there really wasn't much that they knew of for certain, except that this was a murder, and the victim was female. Other than that, he only knew that the victim had been there an awfully long time. 

Roscoe looked up as Jesse Duke came in folled closely by Bo and Luke and their younger cousin Daisy. Daisy was carrying in one hand a large picnic basket. The smell of fried chicken wafted out as she walked towards Roscoe. 

"Hey there Roscoe. The boys told us all about the excitement from this morning, and Daisy here thought you might want something to eat after such a long day." Jesse said smiling to the tired sheriff. 

"Well that's real nice of you all to think of me like that. Thank you Daisy it smells great." Roscoe said as Daisy fixed him a full plate. 

This certainly came as somewhat of a surprise to Roscoe, considering all the times he'd helped Boss Hogg try get rid of the Dukes using various plans. But, when he thought about it more Roscoe figured it really wasn't that much of a surprise. The Dukes were good people at heart and so was he and even Boss Hogg, who hardly ever showed it. 

Roscoe sat and chatted with the Dukes for a few minutes until the phone on his desk rang. 

"Hello. Hazard County Sheriff's Department. How can I help you?" Roscoe said picking up the phone, he hoped it wasn't another nosy reporter calling to try and get him to spill information about the case. He'd had several such calls all day long and by now was sick of them all. 

"Yes this is Sheriff Coltrane. You are? Tomorrow morning at nine? That's fine. Thanks for calling." Roscoe hung up the phone. 

"Well what was that all about Roscoe?" Bo asked. 

"None of our business Bo. We need to get going and let Roscoe finish up his work for tonight." Uncle Jesse said. 

"Now just a minute Jesse. That was the state police on the phone. It seems that the government is sending down one of their own to help with the investigation. They want to have a word with me, Bo, and Luke about the case so far." Roscoe told them. The Dukes left a moment later after telling him that they'd do what they could to help out. 

"Roscoe!!! Who was that on the phone? Don't tell me it was another reporter?" Boss Hogg said as walked up to Roscoe. 

"No sir, Little Fat Buddy. That was the state police. They're sending someone down to help out with the case. They don't think a small town like Hazard can handle murder case." Roscoe explained. In a way he was glad to have some extra help, after all the last major murder in Hazard was over twenty years ago. 

"State Police? Well you better hope that they help you find the killer and soon. Because if not it might not be good for your re-election this fall. And it's not good for town publicity to have a murder mystery." Boss Hogg said. 

Roscoe just shook his head. He knew in part the real reason Boss Hogg was upset, but decided to keep quiet. Boss Hogg had been wanting to purchase the land surrounding the creek for a long time now. His only problem was that Mr. Potter owned at least half the land Boss Hogg wanted, but he refused to sell. He knew now that the land developer's who had originally wanted the land if Boss Hogg could help them acquire it, would pay big money for it. But now it was highly unlikely that he'd be getting his hands on that land for a long, long time. This also meant that Boss Hogg would have to be on his best behaviour, at least until all the excitement was over before resuming any plans to take Mr. Potter's land. 

*************************************************** 

"Uncle Jesse, you think the killer will be found soon?" Daisy as she and the rest of Dukes arrived home at the Duke farm. 

"Well, I don't really know for sure. Roscoe said that body had been there for quite some time. Maybe even years, we won't for sure just yet." Uncle Jesse said. 

"I wonder who it is? I mean its not like everyday that someone here in Hazard just turns up dead." Bo said. 

"Maybe they're not from around here. Hazard is a small town. Everybody knows somebody moves away, moves in, or when we get stranger just stoping for gas and passing through." Luke said. 

"Yeah, you got a point there Luke. Could be that they were just passing through. Who knows, the killer might be clear across the country." Uncle Jesse said. 

"You don't think the killer's from Hazard, do you?" Daisy asked. 

"I don't know about that Daisy. But if he is, the killer will be found and put where he belongs. After all, Roscoe is on the case and so is that fellow that the state's sending down." Uncle Jesse said, trying to reassure Daisy. 

But, what the Dukes didn't know was that the killer was still around and that there would be another murder very soon. And secrets would come out.   



	2. Default Chapter Title

**Small Town Scandal: Part 2**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes. Please don't sue. 

Well folks, by the next day it seemed like nearly everyone in Hazard had heard the news. And it also seemed that since Bo and Luke Duke were there when the body was found they were the center of attention. Of course Roscoe too got a lot of attention as well, but it was mostly the unwanted kind. 

Roscoe had gotten up early to begin what he had already known would be a long and stressful day, and therefore was somewhat shocked at seeing Mark Riggleman sitting on his doorstep waiting for him. 

"Sheriff Coltrane, what are your thoughts on the case so far? Any suspects? What about the Dukes, are they involved?" he asked, before Roscoe could say anthing. 

"No comment." Roscoe said, as he quickly regained his composure. 

"Oh, come on now Sheriff. Just a few a minutes of your time. It won't take but a...." Mark Riggleman didn't get a chance finish when Roscoe cut him off. 

"Now you just listen to me for one second. I know who you are, and all about that piece of trash you call a newspaper. I'm not at liberty to say anything to you or anyone else. So why don't you just take your little flunkie behind the bush over there and beat it. Hazard doesn't need some stupid tabloid reporters running around. God knows I've already got enough trouble with local reporters as it is." Roscoe said and headed towards his squad car. 

"Well that went well. So what do we do now?" Luis, Mark's cameraman asked as he emerged from the bush after Roscoe left. 

"Shut up and let me think a moment. I know that by the end of this thing those Duke boys will be right in the middle of it. The only thing that I don't get is why it took so long before somebody found that body." Mark said trying to come up with ideas for a story to put in 'The Weekly Talk', the tabloid newspaper that he and Luis both worked for. 

"Don't it seem funny to you that whenever something big happens in this town that those Duke boys are almost always involved? They almost seem too good to be true." Luis said as he and Mark walked back to the large white van parked around the corner, well hidden from view. 

"I know. If we could just come with some dirt on them it'd be the biggest news to hit our paper in months." Mark said as the two drove off. 

I don't know about you folks, but if I were you I'd be keeping my eye those two. 

************************************************ 

At nine that morning Detective Harold Gordon walked into the Hazard County Sheriff's office followed closely by his partner, Nick Burns, who had been sent with him to help him investigate the case. 

Just minutes after they arrived Bo and Luke Duke walked in and they started the same questioning that Roscoe had done the day before. 

"Okay, lets go over what happened when you found the body. You boys say you were fishing and talking when you heard Sheriff Coltrane cry out as he slipped in some mud, correct?" Detective Gordon asked. 

"Yes sir, it was about seven thirty when we heard Roscoe." Luke answered while Bo and Roscoe nodded yes. 

"Okay. So you went to check on him and when you did that's when the dog, Flagg, ...." 

"Um, that's Flash. She's right over there." Roscoe interrupted, correcting the detective who simply stared back at him. 

"Right. Flash. So, that's when you say Flash wandered off and discovered the body? You say she digging in the dirt when you noticed she had actually discovered a human skeleton?" he asked, and this time they all nodded their heads yes. 

After a few more minutes of questioning Detective Gordon was almost done and ready to go view the body and then search the surrounding area for any further clues. 

"Alright boys, you can go now. Just remember not to say a word about what went on here, at least for now. The last thing this town needs is rumors flying around." Detective Gordon said as Bo and Luke Duke walked out of the Sheriff's Office. 

Immediately they were bombarded by a slew of reporters which had gathered outside to wait for word on the case. Bo and Luke didn't say a word as they slowly picked their way to the General Lee. When the two were finally inside the car it was Bo who spoke up first. 

"You know Luke, I've been thinking, how come nobody's found that body until now? I mean, you would think that somebody else would have found that body. That creek's a pretty popular fishing spot around here." 

"I've wondered that too. But, most people don't go in those woods, after all there's no hunting allowed. And, there's nothing really important in that area except the creek." Luke answered. 

Just then the radio crackled to life and Uncle Jesse's voice could be heard in the General Lee. 

"Shepherd to Law Sheep, Shepherd to Law Sheep. Are you boys out there?" 

"Yeah we're here Uncle Jesse what's up?" Bo asked. 

"Nothing much. I just need you boys to run some things over to the Potter farm when you get back home. It's not that much, just some parts that Mrs. Potter needs for that train set that she's putting together for her son Andrew." Uncle Jesse said. 

"No problem Uncle Jesse. We'll be there right after we pick up a part from Cooter for the General Lee." Luke told him. 

"That's fine boys. See you in a while. Shepherd out." Uncle Jesse said as he signed off. 

"How'd everything go this morning at the Sheriff's Office, Uncle Jesse? Did they find out anything else yet?" Daisy asked walking into the kitchen. 

"Nope. And besides, I didn't ask." Uncle Jesse said looking down at all the parts from the train set that he had dug out of the barn over the last two days. As he looked he noticed a few pieces missing and sent Daisy out to bring in the other box still in the barn. 

Daisy entered the barn and headed towards the far corner to retrieve the box marked toys for Uncle Jesse when she heard a low groan coming from just a few feet away behind a stack a hay. 

Thinking quickly, she grabbed a large piece of wood leftover from the last time they boys had to repair the fence and backed slowly out of the barn. As soon as she neared the doorway she called out for Uncle Jesse. 

"What is it? What's going on Daisy?" he asked out of breath. In one hand he carried a shotgun, which had been right by the door when he heard her call out. 

"Someone's in there Uncle Jesse." she told him. Just then a figure stood up and staggered towards them holding his head, in one hand was a half empty bottle of whiskey. 

"Billy Feldman what in tarnation are you doing in there? Do you know that I almost shot you just now?" Jesse demanded angry now at the unexpected guest. 

"Billy, when did you get back in town?" Daisy asked. 

"Just last night, I think. Anyway I thought I'd stop in and pay you folks a visit, but since you was all asleep I didn't think you'd mind if I stayed out here for the night." Billy said, slurring his words slightly. As he somehow managed to stagger towards them Jesse noticed that Billy hadn't changed much in the past few months since they had seen him last. 

"Well come on, get out of there. We'll get you a cup of coffee and get you cleaned up a bit." Jesse ordered. 

Now folks, Billy Feldman isn't exactly what folks around here call good news or bad news for that matter. Believe it or not he was actually once a decent looking fellow who owned a small, but growing construction company not far from Hazard County. But, he lost it all when his wife left him for a younger man and took half the money he made with her. After that Billy took to drinking and gambling and lost everything less than a year later. 

Nowadays he's just an old drunk who wanders from town to town. Every so often he ends up here in Hazard, and stays until he ends up doing something stupid and Roscoe runs him off. Like the time he fell asleep in the back of Enos's squad car, who didn't even know he was there for at least three hours. You never know when or where old Billy will show up. But that's another story. Like I said before, he's not good news or bad news, he's more like tolerable news. 

************************************************* 

At that time at the local hospital Roscoe, Detective Gordon, and Officer Burns were just now arriving to view the body of the young woman. The four followed an older nurse who led them downstairs into the morgue, where the body was being examined by Doctor Wilcox. 

"Sorry to interrupt Dr. Wilcox, but Detective Gordon and his partner, Officer Burns, wanted to view the body before we started a search for clues around the site where she was found." Roscoe explained to the rather young looking doctor. 

"Sure Sheriff Coltrane. I think you and your new friends here will be quite interested in what I've found so far. Are you fellas ready?" Dr. Wilcox asked, and they all nodded yes as he led them to the examination table where the body lay. 

"First of all, I estimate that the body had been there at least ten years. I'm not so sure exactly how old she was at the time of death, maybe nineteen or twenty. But, one thing that I'm almost certain of is that she was pregnant when she died. But, there's no sign of the baby. She probably died shortly after giving birth." Dr. Wilcox told stunned men in the room. After a moment Roscoe finally spoke up. 

"What do you mean pregnant? What about the baby? How can you be certain?" Roscoe asked, now somewhat flustered. This case had just gotten very serious and Roscoe knew that it wasn't going to be an easy task in finding the killer or the baby. 

"Well, you see, my nurse was the first to point out the woman's body structure and then the clothing that she was found in. They were too big for a woman of her size, unless she was pregnant. After that, we ran some tests and altough some came inconclusive, we're pretty certain that she was pregnant." Dr. Wilcox took a few more minutes to explain this to the officers and then took to the table where what was left of her clothing remained. 

Roscoe carefully looked over the remains of the woman's shirt, skirt, and shoes and determined that the doctor was probably right. He also took note of the tag on the back of the shirt and could just barely make out the logo indicating that the shirt was meant for a pregnant woman. 

"So, have you determined the cause of death yet? Or did she die while giving birth?" Detective Gordon asked after looking over the body and the remains of the young woman's cloths once again. 

"Well, one theory so far is truama to the head. But, that's the only one so far. We kind of got a little caught up with trying to determine what happened to the baby." the doctor went on to explain. 

Roscoe was nearly finished going over the remains of the clothing when a small heartshaped gold necklace caught his attention. Bending down to get a closer look he noticed that on the front side was the picture of a tiny cross, at the bottom of the cross was what appeared to be a flower of some sort, possibly a rose. 

:"Did the woman have any other significant pieces of jewelry on her when you examined the body?" Roscoe asked, interrupting the conversation. 

"Oh, no. Well, nothing except that necklace over there. It has a picture of cross with a flower at the bottom of the cross. I think there's some writing on the back, but its too faded to make out." the doctor said. 

Roscoe took out a pen and pad and made notes of all the things the woman was wearing when she was found. After a few more minutes of questioning he went to a nearby phone to call Enos have him go through past missing person's reports for a pregnant woman fitting what little description they had so far. If they didn't find anything out by the next day, they would post some of the information in the local newspapers and hope someone would know something. 

As they left the hospital, all Roscoe could think about was why someone would want to kill this young woman. And the baby, what had happened to the baby? Somehow he knew in the back of his mind that the baby was still alive. But who would want to steal a baby? And why? Silently he promised the young woman to do whatever he could to find her killer and her baby. 

*********************************************** 

Bo and Luke Duke were heading back to the farm to pick the train parts that Uncle Jesse had all ready for them to take to the Potter farm when they noticed the white van that followed at a distance behind them. 

The two quickly realized it was another reporter and decided to lose the white van by taking a short cut and jumping their car over a nearby pond. One of which Roscoe's squad cars frequently visited. 

Unbeknownst to Bo and Luke, the two cousins would soon find themselves at the center of a shocking murder in less than another day, with a very unlikely murder suspect.   
  



	3. Default Chapter Title

** Small Town Scandal: Part 3**

Disclaimer: I don't own the Dukes. Please don't sue. 

Mark Riggleman slammed on the brakes of the large white van just a few feet away from the pond. Luis sat in the seat next to him holding his head in one hand and a camera in the other. 

"Wow. Did you see that? I can't believe they made it across. I mean, I heard people say that those guys do that stuff all the time but..." Luis didn't get to finish his sentence when Mark cut him off. 

"Shut up!!! We lost them. They know we're on to them now. Damn it." Mark said. Angrily he slammed his fists into the dashboard. They would now have to take the long route over to the Duke farm. 

"It's not so bad, I mean I think I got some pretty good shots of them jumping over the pond." Luis said, still unable to believe what he had just seen. Mark just glared at him. 

Out of the corner of his eyes he spotted Roscoe's patrol car in the distance off to his right and suddenly realized just how close they were to the spot where the woman was found. 

"Wait a minute. Isn't that the Sheriff? He must be going to that site to look for clues about that woman." Mark said. 

"Yeah, so? What about them? We can't go there. The press isn't allowed near that spot until they've searched it." Luis said. He looked over at Mark and suddenly realized what his partner was up to. 

"Wait, you're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you? There's no way. We'll be arrested if we got caught snooping around over there right now." Luis protested shaking his head no. 

"Wrong. You'll be arrested if you get caught snooping around. Me, I'll be too busy snooping around the Duke farm." Mark said. Luis just looked at him for a second, then once again started to voice his complaints all over again at having to take the risk of being arrested. 

After a few more minutes of arguing, Mark dropped him off about a half of a mile away from the site. 

Now folks, didn't I tell you to keep my eyes on those two? 

************************************************* 

Well about that time Roscoe, Detective Gordon, and Officer Burns were heading off towards the Potter farm after viewing the body. Since the Potter's owned most of land by the site where the woman was found, Roscoe decided he'd better get permission before he and his new colleagues went running around on his land looking anything that might help with the case. 

It didn't take long for Roscoe to explain to Mr. and Mrs. Potter why they wanted to the land near the site where the woman was found. But there was something about the way the couple had acted during the questioning that made Roscoe wonder about the couple. So, he convinced the detective and his partner to stay for a few minutes of questioning before heading off. Roscoe wasn't sure why, but he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that something would turn up today, and it wouldn't be what he or anyone else expected. 

While Roscoe was busy getting permission from the Potter's, Bo and Luke were busy helping Uncle Jesse and Daisy sort through the scattered pieces of the old train set that they'd dug out for Mrs. Potter to give to her son Andrew. What they didn't know was that Mark Riggleman was just now pulling up a few yards away from their driveway, after dropping off Luis about a half of a mile away from the spot where the woman had been found. 

"Billy Feldman was here earlier and we missed him? Man, does that guy have guts coming back to Hazard after what happened the last time he was here." Bo said, shaking his head at the memory. 

"Yeah. I don't think I've ever seen Boss Hogg that angry before in my entire life. When did he leave exactly?" Luke asked. 

"About an hour after we found him. He stayed long enough for a cup of coffee and to wash his face off. Luke, I gave him one of your old shirts. His must've had more holes than a net in that old one." Daisy said, as she continued to sort the pieces of railroad tracks before placing them in the shoe box that they were now using to help sort the pieces. 

"I just don't get it. That man's nearly fifty years old. You'd think by now that he would have at least tried to put his life back together." Luke said. 

"Some folks just don't wanna help themselves Luke. They think that they're the only ones in the world that lost something important in their lives." Jesse explained. He thought back to earlier that day when he first saw Billy. It seemed that Billy always had a look in his eyes anymore that said his life was over. That he couldn't go back to the one he had before. Jesse wondered what could have caused him to have that look. He honestly didn't believe one woman could have caused such a look. 

Ducking low outside the kitchen window, Mark Riggleman sat with a tape recorder in one hand and a pen and pad in another. He sat there listening, waiting to see if Bo and Luke told their uncle anything new about the case. In a few minutes the topic changed from Billy Feldman to the train set and then finally to the case he had been so desperately wanting to hear about. 

Unfortunately, Bo and Luke didn't say anything more than what Mark had already known. The only new news was that the autopsy was currently taking place at the local hospital and Roscoe and the other two officers were heading off to search the site for any clues about the case. Upon hearing news of autopsy, Mark decided to head on off to the hospital and do some snooping around there. 

Now folks, it seems to me snooping around is all those two fellas are any good at. It's also a good thing Uncle Jesse didn't spot Mark. Or he'd find himself running from two barrels of a shotgun, if you know what I mean. 

******************************************* 

Meanwhile, down by the creek, poor old Luis had just arrived to do some snooping around of his own. And so far he wasn't having much luck at it. The temperature had reached a record high for Hazard, for this time of year that is. And Luis wasn't in a good mood at all. I don't blame him. Would you? 

"Jerk. One of these days I swear I'm just going to quit. Why do I have to do the dirty work?" Luis said to nothing in particular as he picked his way through the woods which led to the grave site of the woman. 

"I spend most of the time getting my hands dirty and developing all the pictures, and doing countless other things. And for what? So he gets all the credit. That's what." Luis said. 

"I mean I..." his voice trailed off as he tripped and stumbled over a rather large rock hidden underneath the long blades of grass which covered this area of woods. 

As Luis picked himself up, he noticed that not far from the rock was a small metal item. Luis pushed away the grass blades to get a better look. Thinking quickly he took the lens cap off the camera from around his neck and snapped several pictures of the tiny piece of metal. He then took off the backpack he was wearing and fumbled around inside until he found what he was looking for. 

"Strange. Looks like a hood ornament. I'm surprised it's not covered in rust." he said as he carefully slipped the little piece of metal into a clear plastic ziploc baggie. Lifting it up, he took note of the letters 'B' and 'T' inside a detailed circle on a heavy base. 

Luis examined the hood ornament for a few more moments before carefully placing it inside the backpack. Working with Mark, Luis learned firsthand to always come prepared. In the backpack were countless items, from extra film and cameras, to a pocket knife and little ziploc baggies. Luis eventually started bringing sweaters, snacks and bottled water specifically for special assignments such as this. 

He looked around carefully before continuing down to the grave site. He wanted to make certain he didn't miss anything else important. In fact, he wasn't even sure if what he had found even had anything to do with the case, but he would find out soon enough. 

In a few more minutes he had reached the grave site and immediately took advantage of the fact that there was no one there to guard the place from reporters. That had seemed odd at first, but then he thought about just how much law enforcement this small town really had. 

After all, he only noticed the sheriff and one other deputy. He realized they probably don't generally need extra men in this town. And with the sheriff and that detective and his partner in town all working on the same case they would want at least one man taking care of the general business of law enforcement for Hazard. At least until all of the mayhem was over. 

Luis decided that now was as good a time as any to get the pictures he needed. He walked to the grave site and made special care to look out for mud while he did his job. About halfway through he ran out of film and had to reload the camera. 

Just as he finished he heard the sound of a car pulling up by trail that led to the creek nearby and realized that it was the sheriff with the other two men coming to search the area. 

"Great. I better be getting lost now." Luis said as he headed off towards the right, towards the old trail that would lead him back to the Potter farm eventually, but Luis wasn't aware of that fact. 

Or that when he arrived he'd find the Bo and Luke Duke there along with a shocking discovery. 

*********************************************** 

"Boys, I think we're all done for now. You'd better head on over there and get this stuff to Mrs. Potter before her son gets home from school." Uncle Jesse said as his nephews finished packing away all the pieces to the train set. 

"Uncle Jesse, why does she want all this for Andrew for anyway?" Bo asked. 

"Well that's easy. His birthday's in about two weeks. And I'll tell you one thing, that boys' looking more and more like his daddy every day." Uncle Jesse explained. 

"Yeah that's right, he's gonna be ten then. I can't believe how big he's getting." Luke commented. 

"I just wonder where he got those pretty blue eyes of his. Nobody on either side of his family has blue eyes like his." Daisy said. 

"I don't know. Maybe on his mother's side? If I remember correctly she's not from around here. I think she once told me he favored his uncle." Uncle Jesse as he thought about the comment Daisy had made. After a moments thought he brushed it aside. It didn't really matter who the boy looked like. 

"Come on Luke, it's one thirty. I think Andrew gets out of school at around three." Bo called carrying a large box out to the General Lee. 

"You sure we got everything?" Luke called back to him. 

"Yeah. We just spent the last couple of hours washing this stuff down and testing all the electrical equipment. I think it all works just fine." Uncle Jesse told him, handing Luke the other box. 

"You ready to go?" Bo asked. 

"Yep. Let's get going." Luke said as Bo pulled out of the driveway and sped down the road in the direction of the Potter farm. 

******************************************* 

Up in the barn loft of the Potter farm Billy Feldman had just woken up with a terrible hangover. Like many other times before he wasn't quite sure where he was or how he'd gotten there. He just knew he was someplace else. The only thing he could remember was hitching a ride and ending up not too far from the Potter farm. And like always when he woke, not far off to his side was an empty bottle of whiskey. 

Getting up, Billy staggered around for about a minute until he came to the window that looked down at the staircase in the hallway of the Potter house. 

Billy was almost certain for a minute that the house was empty, but he got a big shock when he saw Mrs. Potter at the top of the staircase. He was about to turn away when out of the corner of one eye he saw her slip, saw her go crashing to the floor at the bottom of the staircase. 

Billy let out a silent gasp as he turned back to the window. He saw a large figure heading towards her, but couldn't make out who it was. His head hurt to badly to try and concentrate on that right now. 

He turned around and through his dizziness somehow managed to make it down the ladder, out the barn door and over to the house without falling. 

His head was hurting badly as he made his way over to where Mrs. Potter lay. He looked down at her and suddenly realized that the other person was gone. That he'd left just before he got to her. 

Billy reached over to turn Mrs. Potter over when he noticed the pool of blood that rapidly formed around her. And suddenly he saw the knife deeply embedded into her back. 

"No, no, no, no. This ain't happening. Its not real. Its not real." he repeated to himself. Billy put his hands to his throbbing head and suddenly realized that his hands were caked in wet blood. Blood. From when he touched her shoulder. 

"Gotta call the sheriff. He'll know what to do." Billy said to himself. But when he reached the phone in the kitchen he heard a car pull up and heard the sound of Bo and Luke Duke's voices outside. 

"No. No, I can't call the sheriff. The boy's will see me here. And all this blood. They'll think I did it." Billy said out loud. With that he turned towards the back door of the kitchen. 

As he opened the door to leave, his shirttail caught on a rusty nail just below latch. He pulled hard on it. It wouldn't budge. He tried again, this time it tore free, leaving a piece of the blue material to hang off the nail. After checking to make sure no one saw him, he ran out of the house. 

"I thought Uncle Jesse said that Mrs. Potter would be waiting for us?" Bo said to his cousin as they waited for an answer at the door. 

"So did I. Mr. Potter's not here, but his wife's car is. I thought I heard something a minute ago. Maybe she's around back or in the barn." Luke said. 

"Hey, the door's unlocked. Why don't you go check in the barn and I'll go set this stuff in the kitchen?" Bo asked. 

"Sounds good to me. That's probably why she didn't hear us pull up." Luke said, heading towards the barn. 

Bo opened the front the door, while balancing a large box in one hand. He was about to call out to her in case she was still in the house but hadn't heard them knock when he saw the figure on the floor. Saw the pool of blood that formed around her small frame and the knife jutting out of her back. 

"Luke!!! Luke!!!" Bo screamed, dropping the box he carried. He turned towards the front door and headed down the porch steps as his cousin came running up to him. 

"Bo, what is it? What is it?" Luke asked him out of breath. 

"D-d-don't go in there!!!" was all Bo could say. He pushed passed Luke, down the porch steps to the side of the house, as a wave of nausea hit him. He felt dizzy. He was shaking hard. It felt like the earth under his feet were spinning. Luke was asking him questions, but he couldn't answer them as he felt his lunch, from just hours before come up. 

Luke realized he wasn't going to get an answer unless he went inside himself. As soon as he reached the doorway he knew what had upset Bo. 

He walked out of the house and felt a wave of nausea hit him as well but managed to keep it down. He held onto the porch railing for a few minutes before finally being able to walk back to the General Lee and radio in for help. 

When Luke finished talking to Enos, the only things on his mind was why anybody would want Mrs. Potter dead. Did the Potter's have anything to do with the murder of the woman they found near their property? If not, did they know who killed her? These and many other questions raced through Luke's mind as he went over to sit by Bo and help comfort his cousin. 

"Bo, just what did we get ourselves into this time?" Luke asked as he spotted Luis coming towards them from the trail that led from the farm to the creek near where the woman's body had been found. 

He knew now that things would be getting more and more complicated before they got better. And somehow, he also knew that Mrs. Potter had been killed for a specific reason. All he really knew for sure was that in one way or another the Potter's had been involved in the murder of that woman they found. It was the only possible explanation that made sense to him. 

Now friends, poor Bo and Luke never go out looking for trouble. Trouble goes out looking for them. In fact, if trouble went hunting it'd be open season on the Dukes all year 'round. 


End file.
